Journey to the Top
by The Chubby Cincinno
Summary: A new craze swept through schools, and Third Street was no exception. All the kids were happy spending hours everyday, eyes glued to the small screens of their Gameboys capturing and training the monsters. But then they woke up, and it wasn't a game anymore.
1. Chapter 1

A new craze has swept through Third Street School with merciless fury. It caught the attention of every student, as well as part of the faculty.

Students sat in the grass, against the school building, and where ever else they deemed comfortable enough to be to take part in this craze. Those who were unlucky enough to have the device they needed to play it, were huddled around another student to watch them play instead.

It wasn't Ajimbo. No, that phase passed and every student buried that incident in the deep recesses of their memory. This craze, though widespread and popular, was relatively harmless. Though it caught and stole the children's attention at the moment, it was sure to fade into one of the many things they did and enjoyed as, well, children. Even the facility couldn't firmly be said to not be enjoying the game and the adventure it offered.

That was Pokemon.

The normal loud and happy sounds of the students running around on the playground wasn't heard as they stuck their eyes on the small screen of their Gameboy's, training and befriending their virtual Pocket Monsters. This included the infamous Six.

They sat in the cheese box in as much of a circle they could make. Eyes glued to the screens of their Gameboy's, they walked through cities, mountains, and battled each and every _annoying_ trainer in their path. TJ, Spinelli, and Vince played Red Version, while Gretchen, Gus, and Mikey played Blue version..

While a week ago, their conversations would mostly consist of what game to play or what strategy would best beat the fifth graders at whatever sport they were playing, todays conversation was about which starter was the best. It didn't help that none of the starters went unchosen.

"It's scientific fact that Bulbasaur, and subsequently it's final evolution Venusaur is the best starter," Gretchen said. "It has the most advantages against all gyms, and therefore is statistically the best."

"Oh come on, Gretch. Sure it's good for the first few gyms, but after that it's mediocre. You could easily replace it with something else!" Vince argued back. "Charizard is obviously the best. There's barely any fire types, so you get a great one right from the start!"

"It's only super effective against one gym!" Spinelli said. "And that's if you make it through the first one!"

"Of course I make it through the first one! I can't be the only one to think Charizard is the best. Teej, back me up here!"

"No can do, Vince," TJ said. "I don't even like Fire Types that much. Charizard is _alright_, but when I started a new game with Squirtle, it was so much easier. I'm on team Blastoise."

"But you get slaughtered in the Electric gym," Gus said. "I'm with Gretchen. Besides the fire and Poison gym, Venusaur is the best."

"Thank you, Gus. At least two of us are using logic," Gretchen said.

"It's a freakin' dragon! A dragon!" Vince yelled.

"A dragon that gets taken out by a rock," Spinelli said. "It's weak."

"I can't believe this," Vince mumbled leaning back against the wall. "Fire types are the best type."

"Uh, no it's not. Fighting is the best type. All out hitters, it's what battling is all about!"

"Statistically, Psychic types are the best. It's only weakness, Bug, has no strong moves to use against it, making it the best type to work with," Gretchen reasoned.

"Anyone could use Psychic types. That's the easy way out," Spinelli said. "I heard in the Silver and Gold games, there's two new types called Dark and Steel, and Psychic types are weak to Ghost, Dark, and Bug. Let's see how your strategy works out then."

"Normal and Ground types are nice and safe," Gus said. "No surprises, and Earthquake everything."

"Friends, friends! Please stop fighting!" Mikey urged them. All types are wonderful and special in their own way. I for one find the Bug types to be good at surprising enemies."

"_Bug_ type? Bug is the weakest type!" Spinelli yelled. "It's even worse than Normal type!" The cheese block soon erupted in arguments over which of their favorite types were. Fire, Psychic, Fighting, Normal and Ground, and Bug each had someone behind them, strongly believing that that type was the best. None of them were willing to back down, until a whistle pierced through the shouting.

"Quiet. I'm at the Elite Four," TJ said. "I need to focus."

"So what's your favorite type, Teej?" Spinelli asked him.

"My favorite type?" He repeated, never taking his eyes off his game. "I like…..Ghost Type."

"Ghost types are creepy," said Gus.

"No they're not. Ghost types are cool. Have you seen the show? Total pranksters," He said. "That's the Type for me."

"There's only one Ghost line in the whole game though," said Vince. TJ shrugged.

"Still like 'em."

The bell signaling the end of recess rang, and they all groaned in response. Saving and turning off their games, they tucked it away in their pockets before heading back to class.


	2. Chapter 2

As part of being in a military family, Gus was somewhat used to the various unorthodox ways used to wake up solders in training, thanks to his dad. Loud alarms, shouting, and the ever infamous trumpets that most people have come to associate with boot camp were all things he has experienced. But the last time he woke up from one of those methods was about a year ago, give or take a few months, thanks to his mother insisting that it was causing more harm than good. That, and he wasn't enrolled in the army.

Because of this, Gus jumped up about three feet in the air when he heard his father, very loudly, blow his trumpet. Landing on the floor with a thud, Gus felt his heart beating against his chest as if he ran a couple laps around the playground.

"Good morning, soldier!" His father proudly, and loudly, greeted. "Todays the big day!"

"The big day?" Gus asked. He untangled himself from the covers and stood up. "What's happening?"

"Don't act like you don't know! You've been talking about it for months," his father said. "We could barely get you to fall asleep last night!"

"We aren't moving, are we?" Gus asked, frightened at the possibility.

"What? No, no! We're not moving! You mean you really don't remember?" His father asked. Gus shook his head. "Well, I guess I'll remind you. But during breakfast. Your mother prepared you a feast before you head out on your journey."

"…Journey?" Gus asked, confused. His father handed him a pile of new folded clothes.

"That's right. Now you get dressed, and come downstairs when you're ready." With a salute, his father left his room. Gus looked at new clothes. A pair of brown pants, a long sleeve light brown t-shirt, a dark green short sleeve hoodie with the head covering colored dark brown, and a pair of timberland boots. Definitely different from what he was used to wearing.

"Are we going camping?" he asked himself. It sure seemed like it with those clothes. He changed, as well as doing the basics; making his bed, brushing his teeth, the regular. Making sure everything was done, Gus went into the kitchen where his parents were waiting for him.

The table was filled with more than enough breakfast food to feed all three of them. Two plates filled with stacks of pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, muffins, orange juice, any sort of breakfast you could think of, and his mother was still bringing more to the table.

"How are you feeling, sweet heart?" His mother asked him, setting down yet another stack of pancakes.

"Good, I guess?" Gus said. "What's all the food for, mom?"

"I just want to make sure you have a good breakfast before you go off on your journey," She said. "My little man, going out in the big scary world on his own. Oh, are you sure you want to go, Gus? You can wait another year, if you really want to!"

"Um…where am I going?" Gus asked. He make himself a plate of food before grabbing the bottle of syrup.

"I told you dear, the boy is suffering from some sort of short term memory loss," said Mr. Griswold. "Must've been all the excitement."

"You're supposed to go get your starter Pokemon today," His mother told him. "You were going to go along with your friends." Gus choked on the pancake that he had just stuffed in his mouth. A few hard and quick coughs dislodged it from his throat, and he took a deep breath.

"My _what_?" He asked, in disbelief.

"Your starter! You've been so excited about it these last few weeks, and now it's finally time and you can't remember," said his dad. "When you go, make sure to get a nice and strong one, son. One that can take you to the championship!"

"Um…w-where do I go to get my starter?" Gus asked.

"Over to Professor Kelso's Lab. There's a lot of other kids from your school going, so you'll want to get down there before all the good ones are taken!"

"You can go now, if you'd like, sweetheart," his mother told him. "You can finish your breakfast when you come back."

"Oh, uh, thanks," he said before standing up. Saying his goodbyes, he stepped outside the house.

This had to be some sort dream. A pretty awesome dream, he had to admit, but a dream. Waking up to find out he's about to go and get a starter Pokemon when he went to sleep worrying about a test the next day. Yep, a dream.

"Gus!"

"Hey, Gus!"

Hearing his name being called, Gus looked around to see who it was. It was Gretchen and Mikey, who, like him, were wearing new clothes.

"Gus, did you parents wake you up talking about going to get your starter Pokemon?" Gretchen asked. Rather than wearing her usual blue dress, the dress she wore today was shorter. It was still blue, and the sleeves and color were a lighter blue. She wore short, light pink leggings underneath, a matching headband, and white running shoes.

"I was hoping this as just some dream," Gus said. "Yeah, they did. Did they do the same for you guys?" The two of them nodded.

"My parents almost pushed me out of the house because they were excited about it," Mikey said. Instead of his regular clothes, he wore light gray pants, a white t-shirt under a light blue and light grey striped jacket and dark gray shoes.

"So this isn't a dream…we're supposed to go get our starter Pokemon," Gus said. "Oh, boy. What do we do now?"

"I think it would be best to find TJ, Spinelli, and Vince, then go get our starters," Gretchen suggested. The two boys agreed and headed towards Vince's house first, since his house as the closest. However, they didn't have to travel far, as the other three members of the group had gathered and were looking for them.

"Did your parents tell you guys to go get a Pokemon, too?" Vince asked them. Is regular clothes were swapped out with a light yellow t-shit, a green jacket with dark green on the sides and parts of the sleeves, dark gray pants with multiple pockets, and a tan pair of timberland boots.

"We were going to as you that," said Gus.

"Man, I thought it was some weird dream when I woke up to a Snubbull licking my face like crazy," said Spinelli. "My mom said it was hers!" Her knew clothes strongly resembled her old ones. A red oversized shirt doubling as a dress, orange knee length leggings, a black jacket, and black boots with bright orange shoelaces.

"Since we all know it's not a dream, we should go and get 'em then," said TJ. Like Spinelli, his new clothes were similar to the ones he normally wore. A pair of blue jeans slightly ripped at the knees, a very light gray t-shirt, a green short sleeved pullover hoodie with a darker green front pocket, white shoes, and his trademark red cap. "Any idea where we're supposed to go?"

"My dad said it's over at 'Professor Kelsos'," Gus said, using finger quotations for emphasis. "Do you think that's where his shop is?"

"Probably. That would be our best bet to start looking," Gretchen said. Agreeing, the six of them began to make their way to Kelso's shop. Half way there, they passed Lawson, who was looking more proud and boastful than usual.

"Hey Lawson, did you already get your Pokemon?" Vince asked him from across the street.

"What's it to you, LaSalle?" Lawson said. He made his way over to the group, tossing a Pokeball in one hand. "You wanna see?"

"Not if you're gonna be a jerk about it," Spinelli said. Lawson shrugged. "C'mon, show us which one you got!"

"Fine," Lawson said. Clicking on the button, he made the ball expanded into its normal size. He opened it, and a stream of light can out of it and onto the ground. When the light cleared, a small blue bipedal creature stood next to Lawson. It resembled a crocodile with a jaw and snout like one, as well as red spines going down its back and tail. On its chest was yellow v shaped mark extending to its arms.

"To-do toto!" It cried, jumping up and down.

"Woah, what kind of Pokémon is that?" Vince asked.

"It's a Tododile, duh," Lawson said. "It's a water type. I bet it's evolution looks wicked! Better than anything you losers are gonna get."

"Yeah, right. I'm gonna get a Charmander 'cause Charizard is the best!" Vince told him.

"Whatever. You better hurry up then. There was only one there when I left," Lawson said. He recalled his started and headed down the street. "I gotta go. I'm wasting my time here when I'm supposed to have already started heading to the next town."

"C'mon, the sooner I get a Charmander the sooner I can beat Lawson!" Vince yelled before running down the street in the opposite direction. The others followed, running after him.

After a few minutes, they reach the spot where Kelso's shop would be. However, it wasn't the same small building they were used to go to for ice cream. It was much bigger, and the words "The Pokemon Lab" hung on the front above the door. The buildings around it were gone as well, making room for a yard in the back. Stepping inside, they saw that it was much more spacious than before. On one of the walls were various Pokeballs with different designs, and on another were Eggs. Mr. Kelso stood behind a counter on the other side of the room, talking to a few other students from their class. After he let them into the back he looked at the six of them.

"I'm surprised it took the six of you this long to get here," Mr. Kelso said. "You're here for your starters, aren't you? Well you can head on back then. There's already a lot of other kids out back."

"Do you know I there's any Charmanders left?" Vince asked.

"A Charmander? I think so," said Mr. Kelso, rubbing his chin. "I'm pretty sure no one has picked that one. If you're looking for it, I should tell you it's pretty shy, so you might have to do some serious looking. It's probably hiding."

"Thanks!" Vince said before running out back.

"Geez. Don't wait for us or nothin'," Spinelli mumbled.

"You all can head back. There's all sort of starter Pokemon out back, and some Baby Pokemon, too, so there should be no problem finding one you like." After saying their thank you's, the remaining five made their way out back. Stepping outside, they saw more of their classmates picking out starters of their own.

"I think we should split up, and when we find our starter, meet back inside," TJ said. "How's that?"

"Sounds good to me. I'm gonna get a tough one," Spinelli said before walking off. Agreeing, the others walked off in the same search.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors note at the end of the Chapter.**

"Dad said to get a strong one," Gus said. As he walked through the backyard, he looked around at the other kids picking their starter. He recognized some of the Pokémon, but he's never seen most of them. If they were anything like the show, the Water types would be blue, the Grass types green, and the Fire type's red, or colors very similar to that.

Out of the three, he felt the safest with a Grass type. Fire could burn you, and Water could easily drown you. Grass could cause some sort of allergic reaction, but his knowledge of first aid nullified his fears of that. So, as far as he knew, a Grass type would be the best for him.

He spotted a Turtle-like Pokémon with a brown shell and a twig growing out of its head. "A turtle! That would be perfect!" Gus said. He started to make his way over to the Pokémon, until he saw it run over to Ranger Phil. He watched the Cub Scout pick the Pokémon up, pat it on the head, and walk back inside with it. "Guess I'm not getting that one…" Sighing, he started to look for another safe looking Pokémon.

Scanning the yard, he spotted a small yellow Pokémon scatter under a bench on the edge of the yard with an armful of food. Curious, he walked over the bench past of the other kids. Kneeling down, he looked under. It was a small, mostly yellow Pokémon. Its ears were shaped like triangles and the fur on the tips and around its neck were black. There was a red circle on each cheek. Its tail was small and black with a single arch.

'Sort of looks like a Pikachu, but a Pikachu is bigger…' He thought. "Hi, there," Gus said. That got the Pokémon's attention as it turned to him, and jumped guarding its food. "Don't worry! I was just wondering why you were hiding under here." Gus started to reach out for it, but the small creature shocked him.

"Chu!" It cried out, releasing a small electric beam from his cheeks. Gus brought back his hand and shook it. It didn't hurt more than a really strong static shock, but it was still a surprise. Looking back, Gus saw that the Pokémon was panting after that small attack.

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" Gus asked. "You should go inside if you're sure. I'm sure Professor Kelso can help you." The Pokémon went back on the defense. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. Are you hiding here so none of the other Pokémon will take your food?" Gus leaned back up. Spotting a few berries in the bushes around, he picked a few and leaned back down. "Here," He said, holding out the berries to it. "You can have these."

The Pokémon hesitated, but eventually crawled over to his hand. After sniffing the berries, it took one in his mouth and the others in its hand.

"Hey, how about you come with me? I'd make sure you have plenty of food," Gus offered. "I'd take real good care of you, too." The Pokémon looked back and forth between the food in its hand and Gus. After eating the berry in its mouth, it ate another. It looked back and forth between its food and Gus. After a few minutes, it finished the last of its food and ran into Gus' arms.

"Chu~!" It cried, snuggling into his shirt.

"Thanks for deciding to come with me! We're going to make it to the top, okay, buddy?" Gus said.

"Pi-chu! Pi-chu pi!"

"How about I call you….Shocker? Since you shocked me a few minutes ago," Gus said. The Pokémon cried out in joy. "Great! Now, let's go find out what you're called…"

MEANWHILE~

If Spinelli had a choice, one of the Pokémon available would be a fighting type. As far as she knew, none of the Pokémon around her were or became a fighting type. Then again she didn't know the names of most of the Pokémon around.

"Ahh! What a cutie!" She turned towards the screaming to see that it was Ashley A., as well as the other Ashley's. The ringleader held up a fox-like Pokémon with yellow fur. It had tuffs of orang flame-like fur coming out of its ears, and a bulbous shaped tail with an orange tip. "You are _so_ coming with me! You are, like, so cute!" The other Ashley's squealed in their usual manner. It appeared that the others had already picked their starters.

Next to Ashley B. was a blue Pokémon that resembled a penguin. Ashley T. had a smaller also blue Pokémon. It was round, and sat on top of the round end of its tail that was the same size of its body. Ashley Q. has a small green Pokémon. On the top of its body were two bud-like appendages wrapped around each other. Its face was yellow, and its legs were short and stubby.

"Even the Ashley's got a Pokemon," Spinelli complained to herself. "Gotta get me one."

She looked around at the various Pokemon playing, eating, and sleeping. None of them stood out to her as powerful, but then again, they were all at their first stage, so how powerful were they going to look? She would have to wait until their final evolutions to see how badass they would end up looking.

"Like, ew! Get away from me, you pig!" The shouting of Ashley A. made Spinelli turn to see what all the fuss was about this time. She glared at a small, orange and dark brown Pokemon with a curly tail resembling a pig. The Pokemon stepped back and crouched as the Ashley yelled at it. "I already have my starter! Like, get out of here! Nobody wants a pig!"

As the Ashley's cackled, the small Pokemon walked away, head low and crying. Angry at what the Ashley's had done, Spinelli walked over to the sad Pokemon.

"Hey, you okay?" Spinelli asked it, kneeling down. The portly Pokemon stopped and looked up at her. "They shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm sure someone out here would want you as a starter."

"Eww! Spin-ugly _would_ pick a pig!" Spinelli let out an exaggerated sigh at the sound of Ashley A's voice. Rolling her eyes, she stood up to face the powderpuffs.

"What's your deal, Armbruster? You didn't have to yell at it!" Spinelli shouted at her. She hadn't noticed, but the pig Pokemon had hid behind her. "You'd think someone as stuck up as you would've learned some manners!"

"Like, whatever! I've already picked mine, and it's cute _and_ strong!" She said, petting the fox Pokemon in her arms. "Let's get out of here girls, before our style and taste disintegrate from being around her." The four of them cackled as they left with their Pokemon. Spinelli just rolled her eyes.

"Even now they're prissy," She scoffed, turning around she continued on her search, until she felt something pushing against her left boot. Looking down, she was the red and black Pokemon looking up at her. "Something wrong?"

"Te-te pig!" It cried, nudging her boot again. "Tepig!"

"What, you want to come with me?" She asked, kneeling down to it. The Pokemon jumped up and ran into her arms, causing her to fall back. "I guess that's a yes."

MEANWHILE (Again)

After not finding the Charmander he so desperately wanted in the backyard, Vince decided to go searching the woods in the back. So far it wasn't working, as he hadn't spotted one. Everything was green, so it shouldn't be hard to spot a small orange creature hiding out here.

"How hard can it be to find a Charmander out here?" Vince mumbled under his breath. "Everything's _green_!"

He stopped and leaned against a nearby tree. This was harder than he thought. Maybe it wasn't out here. Maybe it was hiding back in the yard, and he hadn't done a thorough enough search.

"Char…char…"

Hearing a small voice from above him, Vince looked up to see the Pokemon he was looking for clinging to a branch, scared and shaking.

"Woah, I found it!" Vince said. He moved back to get a better look. "Are you stuck? Just jump down, I'll catch you. I'm good at that sort of thing." Instead of listening to him, the Charmander held onto the branch tighter. Realizing that talking to it wasn't going to work, Vince took a few more steps back. He took a running start to the tree, and jumped up to the closet branch he could find. Grabbing onto it, he pulled himself us and sat down.

Vince reached out and grabbed the Pokemon by its side, pulling it off the branch. Remembering the flame Charmanders had at the tip of their tails, he was careful to not let it touch any of the leaves, or him.

"I got'cha, I got'cha," Vince reassured it. He jumped down to the ground. "See, you're safe now. How'd you get in the tree anyway?"

"Char…char…" The Charmander looked up at him.

"You should come with me. I'm going to be the Champion, and I really want a Charmander on my team!"

"Char?" It pointed to itself.

"Yeah, you! We'll be awesome together! No one'll be able to stop us! Wanna come?"

The Charmander looked down, like it was considering its options. It looked back up at the tree it was hanging out of a few minutes ago before looking back at Vince and nodding. "Great. Let's go back. My friends are probably waiting for me."

MEANWHILE

To prove her hypothesis, Gretchen scanned the yard for a Grass type. From her observations, Grass type was the least popular of the three starters, therefore it was highly likely that she would be able to find one.

Ideally, it would be a Bulbasaur, since she already had an idea how to train one. However, she had seen a fellow classmate walk back into the building with a Bulbasaur, so that was out of the question. Seeing as how she would be going on a bit of an adventure, Gretchen settled with decided to go with another Grass type.

Looking around again, Gretchen spotted a small pale green quadruped Pokemon make its way out of the bushes. It was small buds around its neck, as well as a healthy green leaf growing out of its head. She watched it stretch before sticking out its leaf for sunlight.

"A Pokemon using photosynthesis," She pondered. She walked over to it, trying to be as quiet as possible. When she was only a few feet away from it, the Pokemon noticed her, and jumped a bit from surprise. "I'm not going to hurt you," Gretchen said, holding her hands up.

"Chi-ko?" It seemed to ask, taking a few stepped toward her. "Chiko-chika?"

"Right. Me and my friends are embarking on an quest to collect gym badges, and in order to do this, we have to pick a Pokemon to begin our journey with. I have reason enough to believe that you would be a perfect companion on my team."

"Chiko?" The Pokemon tilted his head in confusion.

"You didn't understand any of that, didn't you?" Gretchen asked halfheartedly. "Right…Would you like to come travel with me? It could be fun."

"Chika!" The Pokemon jumped up and down before rubbing against her leg.

~*~MEANWHILE~*~

Before being rushed out of his house to find his friends earlier, Mikey's mother shovels a breakfast sandwich into his hands. And he was thankful for it too or else he would've been starving. Opening the folded paper towel, Mikey took a big bite out his fried egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich. Maybe before travelling he could stop by home and get a _real_ breakfast.

He looked around the yard. As the others rushed off to pick a starter out, he preferred to let a Pokemon walk up to him out of curiosity and then they decide to go together. It didn't matter which type it was, as he loved all of them, though he had a slight preference for Bug Types, but as far as he knew, none of the ones he could see looked like Bug Types…

"Mun-Munch?" Feeling something tugging at his pants, Mikey looked down to see a dark blue bipedal Pokemon looking up at him. It had two tall ears, and white fur under it's mouth and a round patch on his chest. "Mun-Lax?"

"Hey, little guy" Mikey said, kneeling down to its height. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Mun munch!" It cried pointing at his sandwich.

"Oh, you want a bite." He split the sandwich in half and handed one half to the Pokemon, who happily took it. "There you go."

"Munch!"

"You're welcome!" The Pokemon ate its piece of the sandwich, rubbing its belly from satisfaction after it was finished. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Mun?"

"Yes, you. We can travel all around the world together, seeing sights, trying out all kinds of foods…" At the sound of that, the Pokemon waved its arms and cheered. "So you'll come with me?"

"Munch!" The Pokemon nodded.

"Thank you! C'mon, we gotta go find my friends!"

MEANWHILE

Though TJ didn't have any particular favoritism with any of the starters he knew about, he played the game with Squirtle with the best results, so he thought that would be the best for him. Spotting a small pond where what looked to be a lot of Water Types playing, he headed over there to look. When he finally reached it, he saw Cornchip Girl on her knees, looking over the edge.

"Hey, Cornship. What are you looking for?" He asked her.

"Oh, hi TJ. My necklace broke off when I looked down and fell into the water," Cornship Girl explained. "I asked my starter to go down and look for it."

"You already picked one? Which one was it?"

"A Squirtle. I love Water Types," She said.

"Oh. I was kinda hoping on getting a Squirtle…"

"I'm sorry. But there might be another one around," said Cornchip Girl. "You never know."

"Squirt!" The two of them looked at the water to see a Squirtle swimming just in front of them. It held a small necklace in its hand up for Cornchip Girl.

"You found it! Thank you!" After drying it off, she hook it around her neck. The Squirtle climbed out of the water and shook itself dry before standing up on its back legs. "Let's go, Mr. Bubbles. I'll see you later, TJ. Tell the others I said hi!"

Look back at the pond, TJ kept an eye out for another Squirtle. He saw plenty of blue colored Pokemon that looked to be Water types, but none of them were the one he was looking for, and his hopes of getting one began to dwindle.

"Maybe I should get a Fire Type," he mumbled.

"Vee," He heard something say. Looking to his left, he was an Eevee walk up to the pond and drink, it's ears occasionally twitching.

"It's an Eevee. What game do you get an Eevee for a starter?" He asked himself. He reached out and petted the brown Pokemon. It responded by look up at him.

"Vee?" It took a few steps closer to him.

"You should come with me and my friends," TJ said. The Pokemon tilted his head before jumping in his lap and placing its front paws on his chest. "Is that a yes?"

"Eev vee!" It jumped again, this time on his shoulder.

"I think that's a yes. Cool, I got an Eevee! Now what should I call you?"

"Vee~!" The Eevee grabbed is hat in mouth and pulled is hat off. With a flip, it landed in TJ's lap and his hat landed on its head. Before he could say how cool of trick that was, the Eevee hopped off his lap and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" He asked it. "That's my hat!"

"Vee, vee!" The Eevee turned back to look at him one more time before running off.

"Hey! Give me back my hat!" He took off running after the Pokemon, avoiding other students who were looking for their starters. He almost lost sight on the Eevee a few times before spotting a brown and red streak running across the yard.

TJ managed to get close to it a few times, and he leapt forward to catch it, only for the Eevee to keep running, adding to his growing frustration. It didn't help that he could see that his friends had already found their starters and were waiting for him.

"C'mon! You can just steal peoples stuff!" He said to it. He stood a few feet away from the Eevee, enough to make sure it didn't run, again. "Will you please give it back?"

"Vee," it said, before walking away, again. Sighing, TJ followed it. Surprisingly, it was making its way over to his friends and their Pokemon.

"Woah, is that an Eevee?" Vince asked when they spotted the Pokemon.

"Yeah. What's an Eevee doing out here?" asked Spinelli. "Is that TJ's hat?"

"It stole it from me!" TJ yelled at them. "And it won't give it back. It keeps running."

"Oh, c'mon. You're gonna let yourself get bullied by a little Eevee, Teej?" After putting down her Pokemon, Spinelli kneeled down in front of the Eevee. She reached out and took the hat it stole from TJ off its head. "See? That was easy."

"Easy for you…" He walked over and joined his friends. This time, the Eevee didn't run from him. "I should be mad at you."

"Vee?"

"Yeah, you. That hat means a lot to me," TJ said. He picked the Pokemon up and held it in his arms. "But I forgive you. It's not like you ruined it or anything. Which Pokemon did you guys get?"

"I got a Charmander!" Vince proudly announced. His Charmander was clinging to his leg, looking scared of its surroundings. "He's sorta shy. I rescued him from a tree."

"I dunno what mines called. It sort of looks like a Pikachu," Gus said. Shocker sat happily on his shoulders.

"I think we only know the names of Vince's and TJ's," said Gretchen. Her Pokemon, which she named Jan a bit of a while ago, was resting next to her. "I don't know the name of mine, either."

"Mine reminds me of a Snorlax, but a lot smaller," said Mikey. He tried picking up his starter, only to find it was incredibly heavy. Instead, it stood next to him, munching on some berries it found.

"I found this little guy after the Ashley's were mean to it," said Spinelli. She picked hers up before standing up again. "I mean I get if you don't want a certain one but you don't have to make it feel bad. It kinda picked me."

"Maybe Mr. Kelso knows what they're called," said Gus. "We could ask him." The others agreed, and with their first Pokémon, made their way back inside the lab.

**Authors note: I would like to say things to Biruka for helping me with deciding everyone starters and teams, as well as the overall plan for the story. Given the amount of detail and planning before even thinking of writing, I am very thankful for Biruka's help and input. If it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't have gotten this story out yet. Now I can't say exactly what Pokémon is going to be on their teams without spoiling the whole thing, but as the story progresses, I think it'll be surprising to you readers. **

**Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Stepping back inside, the group found Mr. Kelso shining a few PokeBalls before putting them on the shelf for display. It was weird, seeing the red and white orbs in real life. Full sized, they each guessed it to be the size of a baseball, maybe a little smaller. There were others on the wall, too, though each had a white base. A blue ball with two red stripes, a lighter blue ball with black lines across it, a black ball with a yellow 'H' shape, and even more.

They couldn't wait to try them out.

"Have you kids picked your starters?" Mr. Kelso asked, turning around. They all nodded, happily talking about their starter. "Okay! I can see you're all excited, but I can't listen to you all at once."

"Sorry, Mr. Kelso," Gus said. Shocker adjusted on his shoulder. "This is all so new to us."

"Yeah, we can't wait to head out!" Said Vince. He adjusted the Charmander in his arms, who was still insistent on clinging to him.

"I know, I know. But I still have a few things to give you six, so if you can stand to stay for a few more moments, it would help you in the long run." All having an idea of what he was talking about, they contained their excitement, if only for now. They watched him reached behind the counter and search through a box sitting on the floor. Standing up he turned back around to them with six devices in his hand. He handed the devices over to them, and they looked it over. Each had their own individual design, looking vastly different from the next. Glancing at each other's, they found that Gus was the lucky one to end up with the one they recognized from the show.

"So how do we work these things?" Spinelli asked. "Do we just hold them out in front of the Pokémon or do we press a button or something?"

"You just hold it in front of the Pokémon and it'll do the rest," Mr. Kelso explained. "I've got one more thing to give you kids before you head out." He searched through a drawer behind the desk. He placed six shrunken PokeBalls in front of each of them. Just the simple red and white basic PokeBalls, but they each saw it as treasure. "Those are to help you out on your adventure. Though, you'll probably start buying better functioning ones after a while."

"Thanks, Mr. Kelso," said TJ. They each grabbed up their own PokeBall, pocketing most of them while keeping one in their hands just to look at.

"No problem."

With their new items and first Pokémon with them, the group chose to sit on the stairs of the elementary school. Each of their starters ran around in front of them, playing with each other. The fiddled around with their PokeDex's, putting their personal information into it while eager to scan their Pokémon, Gus, Spinelli, Mikey, and Gretchen more so than Vince and TJ, since they already knew about their own starters.

"_Pichu, the Tiny Mouse Pokémon. Pichu is the pre-evolved form of Pikachu. It plays with others by touching tails and setting off sparks. It may send out a jolt if amused or startled."_

"So that's why he looks so much like a Pikachu. Shocker evolves into one," Gus said. He finished fiddling around with his PokeDex first, since his dad was always heavy on him learning how things work fast and efficiently. The device also displayed the Pokémon's gender and attacks it knew. "Cool! I'll get a Pikachu one day!"

"That's great, Gus. Are you gonna evolve it into a Raichu?" TJ asked.

"Oh. I dunno, yet. I'll think about it if I find a thunderstone."

"While you think about that, I'm gonna look up my own starter," Spinelli said. She held up her PokeDex in front of her starter.

_"__Tepig, the Fire Pig Pokémon. It blows fire through its nose. When it catches a cold, the fire becomes pitch-block smoke."_

"Now there's a strong Pokémon! Can't wait to see what he evolves into," she said. "What about you, Gretchen?"

"Sorry, I was trying to figure out if I could possibly implement Galileo with my PokeDex," Gretchen said.

_"__Chikorita, the Leaf Pokémon. A sweet aroma gently wafts from the leaf on its head. It is docile, and loves to soak up sunrays."_

"Interesting. A Pokemon that thrives on photosynthesis," Gretchen said. "That can come in handy in case we're low on food."

_"__Munchlax, the big eater Pokemon and pre evolution to Snorlax. It hides food under its long body hair, so much it often forgets._

"Wow. Snorlax can pack a punch. Sure you can handle that, big guy?" Spinelli asked Mikey.

"Of course, me and my Munchlax are going to be great friends," Mikey said.

_"__Charmander, the lizard Pokemon. The flame on its tail glows brightly when its healthy."_

"Watch, my Chamander's gonna have the brightest tail you've ever seen!" Vince said proudly. That might take a while His Charmander was a shy little thing.

_"__Eevee, the evolution Pokemon. It's unstable DNA allows it to have a variety of evolutions."_

"Have any idea of wat you're going to evolve it into, Teej?" Spinelli asked.

"Nope. I think I'll let her pick which she wants to be," TJ said. "I don't have a favorite."

"Well, I say make it a Flareon," Vince put in. "Every team could use a good fire type."

"I say Jolteon. It hits fast," Spinelli said.

"Vaporeon has the best stats, and would be a solid choice for any team," Gretchen said.

"Well, whatever she picks, I'll be happy with," TJ said. "There's no pressure. But I think we should head home. I bet our parents wanna see which ones we picked. Meet up here after?"

The other agreed. After gathering their starters, they headed out back home, occasionally running into classmates who had gotten their starter as well. The excitement of the kids of Third Street was felt in the air, and probably for a very wide radius surrounding the town.

. . .

Gus arrived home, with Shocker sitting comfortably on his shoulder. The Pokemon's light weight made that possible without hurting him.

"Mom? Dad? I'm back! And I got my starter," Gus called out when he came inside.

"Well, c'mon in the kitchen and show us!" His father called out. Gus made his way into the kitchen, where the large amount of food from earlier was cleaned up and stored in plastic containers.

"Here he is," Gus said, picking Shocker up and holding him out for his parent to see. "His name is Shocker. He's an electric type."

"Good choice, son! Nice and powerful electric type!" His father said proudly, patting Gus on the back. "An electric type help me through the war."

"Are you sure you'll be okay with and electric type, Gus? They can be quite dangerous," his mother said.

"Aw, I'll be fine, mom. Shocker already likes me, don't you?" Gus asked.

"Chu~!" Shocker cried. It accidently let out a small spark of electricity that shocked Gus.

"Ow! That, uh, was an accident…" He chuckled,

MEANWHILE

Arriving home, Spinelli found her starter being scooped up by her mother, who gushed about how cute the pig Pokemon was. She supposed it was kind of cute in its own way: a little fire piglet, curious about everything around him. She was starting to let up on her dislike of fire-types because of this one Pokemon.

"Oh, you are sure a little cutie," her mother cooed. The Pokemon put up no fight while being held by the affectionate woman. In fact, it seemed content with all the attention it was getting, and could Spinelli blame it, after what happened with Ashley A.?

"So what time is this one, pumpkin?" Her father asked.

"A fire type. At least for now," Spinelli answered. "I've never seen this Pokemon before so I don't know what it'll evolve to."

"Do you have a name for this adorable little thing?" her mother asked.

"A name? I dunno. . ." She said. She sat at the kitchen table, making a plate of pancakes. She never named her Pokemon in the games, why should she now? Then again, this was a whole new adventure, so why not. "I think I'll name him Rumble."

"That's a great name, pumpkin. That's a name of a winner!" He said. "Are you ready to head out into the world?"

"As ready as I'll never be, I guess."

"You and your friends are planning on travelling together, right?" her mother asked. She paused in her cooing and her tone a voice took on a more serious inflection.

"Yes, mom."

MEANWHILE

Vince stood outside of his house, his Charmander that he named Aiden still in his arms. He paid close attention to its tail, not wanting to light anything on fire by accident. The small Pokemon still clung to his shirt, unwilling to let go for longer than a few seconds.

"Listen, I know you're nervous, but you don't have to worry about anything," Vince tried to assure him. "My family is super nice. They won't hurt you, okay? If you trust me, you gotta trust them, at least a little bit."

". . .Char. . " Aiden still looked nervous. Vince, feeling a little brave, sat Aiden down on his own two feet. He breathed a sigh of relief when Aiden didn't panic. He only grabbed the side of his shorts. That was fine; he'd deal with that until later.

"Alright, we're about to go inside," he said as he turned the doorknob. "Please don't panic."

When he opened the door, he was hit with the smell of breakfast. Aiden continued to grasp the side of his shorts as he walked into the kitchen. His brother Chad sat at the table with a small yellow bug Pokemon sitting on his shoulder.

"Hey, bro. You're back," Chad said. "Did you get your starter?"

"Yep. A Charmander, and I named him Aiden. Don't make any sudden movements, though. He's shy," said Vince. He nudged downwards to Aiden, who was clearly uncertain about his trainers brother. Chad came over and kneeled down closer to the Pokemon's height. "Where's mom and dad?"

"Double checking the stuff they brought for you," Chad said. "Hey little guy. My name's Chad, and this is my Joltik, Eddison."

Chad held his hand out for Aiden to shake. Aiden hesitated, not sure of what to make of this new stranger, but his trainer knew him, so he must be okay, right? He slowly grabbed his hand and shook it.

"I'm actually surprised he shook your hand," said Vince. "What's for breakfast?"

. . .

"A grass type starter. A well rounded choice, Gretchen."

Gretchen's Chikorita, named Flora, stood on the coffee table in the living room being inspected by her ever so analytical mother. Flora stood proud, showing off the leaf on her forehead from various angles. Gretchen rolled her eyes, hoping that arrogance wasn't a part of Flora's personality.

"Chiko!"

"Now with a grass type comes the obvious weaknesses: fire, ice, poison, flying, and bug, so it's best to choose other members of your team accordingly," Her mother said. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I believe a flying, fire, or psychic type would be a god addition to your team."

"Thank you mom. I'll take that into consideration," Gretchen said. Her father came back into the living room carrying a dark blue duffel bag with pink zippers.

"Here you go, dear. I bag filled with just about everything you'll need," her father said. "Clothes, food, a sleeping bag, toiletries, a few potions, a first aid kit, and a few antidotes."

"Wow, all of that? I was sure to pick a few of those thing as I went along," she said as the bag was handed to her. Despite having quite a large number of things inside, it was rather light and easy to carry.

"I know, but it doesn't hurt to have a bit of a head start. Just to be safe," said her father. "Also, this." He pulled out a small light blue card from his pocket. "You'll be needing this."

"A credit card?"

"Not quite. It's function is more like that of a debit card, holding all of the money you earn from battling," her mother explained. "As it currently is, it holds about $1,000, which should be enough until you reach your first gym."

"Really? The two trust me with that kind of money?" She looked over the card. It had her name printed on it and everything.

"Of course. If we trust you to travel the world, we more than trust you to manage a budget," her father said. "Just spend wisely."

MEANWHILE

"Mom? Dad? I'm back!"

As TJ stepped into his house, Ellie, his Eevee, ran past his legs on into the living room. She hopped on the coffee table, and then the couch, just like she lived there for years. He supposed it was better than her being scared like Vince's Charmander, and she wasn't knocking things over, which was a plus.

"We're in the kitchen!" He heard his father call. He picked Ellie up into his arms before heading towards the smell of breakfast food.

"Oh, an Eevee," Becky said at the sight of his starter. "At least you had enough sense to pick out a cute one."

"Becky, be nice," Their mother warned.

"Ha, ha, very funny, Becky. But I'll have you know that Ellie here picked me herself," TJ said proudly.

"Vee-vee!" Ellie chirped. When TJ pulled out a seat for himself, Ellie wiggled out of his grasp and into the chair.

"That's my seat. You can sit in my lap," he said.

"Are you ready to go on a brand new adventure?" his father asked.

"Yep! Can't wait," said TJ. "As much as a can be for something I just heard about, anyways." He tore off a small piece of pancake for Ellie to eat.

"Don't Eevee's evolve into a number of other Pokemon?" His mother asked. "Do you have in mind what you want to evolve it into?"

"Nope. I'm gonna let Ellie decide, if she decides at all," said TJ. "Do you have any Pokemon, Becky?"

"No, I don't have the time to train one or anything," Becky said. "I've got other things to focus on." She scratched Ellie's head, and Ellie poured in response, twitching her ears.

"Oh, TJ, don't forget the bag your father and I made for you. It's upstairs in your room," his mother said.

"Can I go see?" He asked. His parents nodded, waving him off and he went upstairs, Ellie following close behind. On his bed was one of those over the shoulder duffel bags, already fully packed. Curious, he looked inside, careful not to mess up the folded clothes. Especially with how his parents managed to get so much stuffed in a bag this size.

. . .

"There's plenty of band-aids, disinfectant, cold medicine, decongestant, antiseptic, oh, and some alcohol wipes, all packed away in this pocket right here. Don't forget where it is. Also, your clothes are all neatly packed in here. . ."

While his mother explained everything packed away in his bag, Mikey and his Munchlax, Dionysius, ate at the large breakfast his parents had made. You shouldn't head out on an empty stomach, you know. His mother was quick to bring out the bag she packed for him, showing him exactly where everything was, and emphasize that it was there, and to be used whenever necessary. It couldn't be helped; sending your child out into the world was a worry something for any parent.

"Are you going to watch over our son?" his father asked Dionysius. Dionysius nodded, taking a bite of an apple.

"Alright, you're all set to go," his mother said, tears coming to her eyes. "My baby, going out into the cold cruel world. . .!"

"Don't worry, mom, I'll be fine!" Mikey said, trying to reassure his mother. "I'm travelling with my friends, after all."

"I know. It's just me being a mother, I suppose," she said. "Be sure to call home often; don't forget about us. And if you ever want to come home, then feel free to. We'll be here."

"He'll be just fine, dear," his father said. "Speaking of which, it's getting late, Mikey. You might want to head out and meet up with your friends."

"Okay," Mikey said. He and Dionysius finished their plate and wiped their mouths. After hugging his parents, he grabbed the bag they packed for him before heading out the door, Dionysius following close behind.

. . .

After they each said goodbye to their parents, they headed out, with bag packed by their parents and few extra things in hand. They met up in front of Professor Kelso's, a little excited and a little nervous about this adventure that was suddenly presented in front of them.

With each other their starters out of their assigned PokeBalls, they opened a map, showing the direction they needed to go to reach route 1. They shook off, at least, most of their remaining fears, and began their journey.

* * *

><p><strong>I feel so bad about giving Gretchen the absolute worst starter. Honestly Chikorita and its line are terrible in battle, both for just playing through, and the meta scene. <strong>

**I'm sorry I haven't updated in such a long time. I've been super busy with college and life that I had no time for writing and updating. I should be updating more frequently for all of you readers, so stay tuned. The adventure officially begins next chapter!**

**Please review!**


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